How your Pennsylvania paycheck is calculated
Every $100 you earn in Pennsylvania
- Take-home pay$79
- Federal income tax$10
- Social Security & Medicare$8
- State income tax & PA unemployment (UC)$3
$75,000 salary, single filer, 2026.
A Pennsylvania paycheck has five tax lines — federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Pennsylvania income tax and a small unemployment contribution — plus a local wage tax in almost every town. The calculator works out a full year of each from the 2026 rules and divides by your number of paychecks; tap any line to see the arithmetic and the official source.
Pennsylvania’s income tax is one of the simplest to work out and gives fewer breaks than most: 3.07% of your taxable pay, starting with the first dollar. There is no standard deduction and no allowance for children. Pre-tax health, dental and vision premiums paid through your employer’s cafeteria plan are not taxed, and neither are HSA contributions made through that plan — but your 401(k) or 403(b) contributions are.
Pennsylvania take-home pay at common salaries
The table runs the calculator for a single filer with no pre-tax deductions in 2026. The chart shows how the share you keep changes as pay rises.
| Salary | Take-home per year | Every two weeks | Total tax rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $25,343 | $975 | 15.5% |
| $40,000 | $33,064 | $1,272 | 17.3% |
| $50,000 | $40,785 | $1,569 | 18.4% |
| $60,000 | $48,506 | $1,866 | 19.2% |
| $75,000 | $59,238 | $2,278 | 21.0% |
| $100,000 | $76,040 | $2,925 | 24.0% |
| $125,000 | $92,779 | $3,568 | 25.8% |
| $150,000 | $109,081 | $4,195 | 27.3% |
| $200,000 | $142,647 | $5,486 | 28.7% |
| $250,000 | $175,332 | $6,744 | 29.9% |
Your numbers will differ if you contribute to a 401(k), pay health premiums, file jointly or have children — enter them in the calculator above.
Take-home on a $75,000 salary by state
Reading your Pennsylvania pay stub
Payroll software rarely uses the same names as tax law. Here is how the lines in the breakdown above usually appear on a Pennsylvania pay stub, using a $75,000 salary paid every two weeks.
Your 401(k) does not lower Pennsylvania tax
Almost every state follows the federal rule that 401(k) contributions come out of taxable pay. Pennsylvania does not: it taxes the money in the year you earn it, then leaves qualified retirement withdrawals untaxed later. A single filer earning $75,000 who puts $7,500 into a 401(k) saves federal tax on that $7,500 but still pays Pennsylvania $2,303 — the same as without the contribution. The calculator applies this automatically when you enter a 401(k) amount.
The same goes for Philadelphia’s Wage Tax, which also taxes pre-tax health premiums. Pittsburgh’s earned income tax follows the state rule: 401(k) taxed, cafeteria-plan health premiums not.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other local wage taxes
Nearly every Pennsylvania municipality and school district charges an earned income tax, and most towns add a Local Services Tax of up to $52 a year. The calculator includes the two biggest cities — choose yours under City tax:
- Philadelphia Wage Tax. Residents pay 3.74% until June 30, 2026 and 3.735% from July 1 on every dollar they earn, wherever they work. People who live outside the city pay 3.43%, then 3.425%, on pay for work done in Philadelphia. The rate is cut a little each July, so the calculator uses the blend for the year: 3.7375% for residents. On a $75,000 salary that is $2,803 a year — more than the $2,303 Pennsylvania itself takes.
- Pittsburgh. City residents pay 3% earned income tax (1% to the city and 2% to the school district) plus the $52 Local Services Tax charged to everyone who works in the city and earns at least $12,000 there. On $75,000 that is $2,302 a year.
Elsewhere, your employer withholds the earned income tax for the place you live, or the place you work if its nonresident rate is higher. Rates for every municipality are listed by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and many are around 1%. Those towns are not in the calculator yet, so check your town’s rate and allow for it if you live outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Tax forgiveness for low incomes
Pennsylvania wipes out its income tax for low-income households through tax forgiveness (Schedule SP). A single person with up to $6,500 of eligibility income owes nothing, a married couple up to $13,000, and each dependent child adds $9,500 — so a married couple with two children owes no Pennsylvania tax on up to $32,000. Above the limit, each $250 of income takes 10% off the forgiveness, and it ends $2,250 above the limit.
The calculator applies forgiveness from your wages and the dependents you enter. Your employer still withholds the full 3.07% unless you file a REV-419 exemption certificate, so the forgiven tax usually comes back as a refund. Eligibility income also counts things like interest, child support and some benefits, which can push you out of the table.
Why your real paycheck can differ
- Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit. A new refundable state credit equal to 10% of the federal earned income tax credit, first claimed on 2025 returns. The calculator does not include it.
- Philadelphia income-based rate. Philadelphia workers who qualify for Pennsylvania tax forgiveness can pay a reduced Wage Tax rate of 1.5% by applying for a refund; the calculator uses the standard rate.
- Overtime and tips are taxed. Pennsylvania taxes all compensation, so the federal overtime and tips deductions do not reduce the state, unemployment or local tax.
- Working in a neighbouring state. Pennsylvania has reciprocity with New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Virginia and West Virginia, so residents of those states working in Pennsylvania usually pay their home state instead.
2027 Pennsylvania paycheck
Switch the tax year to 2027 to use the new federal brackets, standard deduction and Social Security wage base. Pennsylvania’s rate has been 3.07% since 2004; Philadelphia sets each July’s Wage Tax rate in its budget. Until they are out, the Pennsylvania lines use 2026 figures and the calculator says so above the breakdown. We update the page the day the official numbers are published — see the data changelog.